Finland, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland provide €9.29M for East Jerusalem hospitals

During a visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital yesterday, the European Union Representative Alexandre Stutzmann announced the disbursement of €9.29 million to the Palestinian Authority to support medical referrals to East Jerusalem hospitals. The contribution is funded by Finland (€1 million), Italy (€1 million), Luxembourg (€3 million), and Switzerland (€4.297 million), and is channelled through the EU PEGASE Direct Financial Support mechanism. An additional €20 million from the EU budget is expected to be made available later this year.

As the Palestinian Authority faces unprecedented fiscal pressure following Israel’s withholding of tax clearance revenue transfers since May 2025, this support will help it meet part of its financial obligations to East Jerusalem hospitals. These hospitals are under severe strain as they continue to provide essential healthcare services to Palestinian patients in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Since 2013, the EU and its Member States and like-minded partners have supported the Palestinian Authority with regular contributions to the payment of medical referrals to East Jerusalem Hospitals that have now reached over €225 million. These hospitals are an integral component of the Palestinian healthcare system providing specialized medical services that are not available in the public hospitals.

“Through this contribution, the European Union, its Member States, and like-minded partners reaffirm their commitment to ensuring access to essential medical services for all Palestinians. The health sector is in an extremely fragile situation. The Palestinian Authority is struggling to meet its financial obligations towards this sector after months of Israel withholding tax revenue transfers. At the same time, the health situation in Gaza continues to worsen. We urgently call on Israel to reopen the Gaza crossings. This is essential to allow the delivery of medical supplies to Gaza hospitals and the evacuation of critically ill patients to hospitals in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. We remain firmly committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to strengthen and sustain the healthcare system. We also encourage the Ministry of Health to pursue reforms that improve efficiency, equity, and access to essential care for all patients,” said European Union Representative Alexandre Stutzmann.

Background

Since 2008, most of the European Union's assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is channelled through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support, supporting the PA reform process and various national development plans. PEGASE supports the PA’s recurrent expenditures, mainly the salaries and pensions of civil servants, the social allowances paid through the cash transfer programme and part of the costs of medical referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals. Since February 2008, over €3.8 billion were disbursed through PEGASE by the European Commission and various development partners, mostly EU Member States.